Tuesday, September 27, 2011

My way is the highway

My way is the highway

As
World Tourism Day approaches on Sept 27, Sunday Times tracks desi
backpackers — that often ignored group which is slowly making its
presence felt

Atul Sethi | TNN

Animesh
Rawal doesn’t mind calling himself kanjoos, a miser. But then, being a
kanjoos can sometimes be a handy trait, especially if you are
backpacking around the globe on a shoestring budget. The
Bangalore-based former IT professional with a fondness for languages
—his profile says he is fluent in English, Hindi and Indonesian,
conversational in Spanish, and can “convincingly make a fool of myself
in French” — has set for himself the challenge of backpacking around
the world in six months, without spending more than Rs 2 lakh from his
pocket (expenses on beer excluded). “The myth that ‘Indians don’t
backpack’ has been broken time and again by desis from all over the
globe,” says the 20-something globetrotter intent on busting the myth
further with what he calls the ‘Do Peti Challenge’ — the Rs two
lakh-challenge. Rawal epitomizes the rising generation of
confident, young Indian backpackers who are increasingly hitting the
road, often in the truest tradition of backpacking — taking each day as
it comes and savouring the journey as well as the destination. Akshay
Chhugani, who set up the Indian Backpacker Company, a travel planning
outfit targeting foreign backpackers coming to India, says he was
surprised to get a lot of business from Indian customers. “Our clients
are mainly the young, often those in the 22-26 age group. The concept
is especially popular among college students who may have visited
popular destinations with their families and now want to experience the
flavour of backpacking, usually in off-beat places.” Interestingly,
there are more women backpacking now — at least to destinations outside
India. Yogi Shah, CEO of Mumbai-based The Backpacker Co, says the ratio
of Indian women to men backpackers going abroad is 60:40. “Popular
destinations for Indian women backpackers are Europe and the UK,” he
adds. But desi destinations are catching up fast, too — notwithstanding
the perception of the country being unsafe for female backpackers. Meha
Ved, who got bitten by the backpacking bug five years ago on a holiday
to Dharamsala, has since been on backpacking trips to Gaumukh,
Darjeeling, Gangtok, Ladakh and Kashmir, accompanied in her trips by
another female friend. “Although we seldom saw a single girl or a bunch
of girls travelling, it never bothered us because people went out of the way
to help us. For instance, when we were in Kashmir during the Ramzan
month, and wanted to taste kahwa — the Kashmiri saffron tea — the
waiter at a restaurant told us that it was not being served due to
Ramzan. But soon, he got us two steaming hot cups of kahwa from
somewhere and refused to take any money for it.” Such
incidents among backpackers abound. An Indian couple that backpacked
across Europe last year reminisces being stranded at an obscure railway
station in Italy when they heard a familiar tune. It was Salman Khan’s
song from his latest movie! They located the source of the song to a
shop selling Indian groceries and got directions and a complimentary
hot Indian meal. Europe and the Far East have always been popular with Indian backpackers. But, interestingly, the style
of backpacking changes when away from home. “Indians, by na ture are
flashpackers, especially when travelling abroad,” says Chhugani.
Flashpacking is a term used for affluent backpackers who travel with
technological gadgets and are not averse to splurging on accommodation
or travel options unlike the quintessential back packer who doesn't
mind roughing it out. But such distinctions may be getting
fluid as backpacking itself becomes more broad-based and in tune with
the times. Shah says this is reflected in many little things. “Earlier,
hostels which backpackers used were bottom-of the-barrel. But now,
hostels offer private room options and are more evolved. Also, many
back packers hitchhiked their way around, but now it’s illegal to do so
in many countries. And, unlike the past when backpackers could take off
when they wanted, now it’s impossible to get visas unless there is a
fixed itinerary.” Flashpacker or backpacker — the term may
vary, but the reason for travelling doesn’t. Subhashish Roy, who makes
it a point to back pack inside India at least once every three months,
says the soul of the backpacking experience lies in going off on a trip
where nobody tells you what to do. “For me, it essentially means experi
encing the unknown, mingling with the locals and getting a fla vour of
their lives,” he says. TV actor Ejaz Khan, another ardent
backpacker, echoes this thought, but adds another dimen sion to it.
“Backpacking is often highly educative experience One
of my most memora ble backpacking trips was when I, along with a
friend, stayed in small village near Nasik. We bathed in ponds and
experienced village life. Through our interactions, we were able to
understand the conditions that prompted most young men in the village
to leave for the cities. It in spired us to do something constructive
for rural em ployment in the future.” This, then, may con tain the
essence of the backpacking experience — learning more about how others
live. As someone once said, “ travel because there is no greater
teacher.” atul.sethi@timesgroup.com

BLAZING A TRAIL More Indian women are backpacking, especially to destinations outside India